The Gilded Age Politics 1868-1900 Big Focus Areas: 0. The Forgettable Presidents: 0. Domination by the Republicans 1. Similarity of the parties until the tariff issue 1. Corruption of the Grant Administration 2. Soft $ v. Hard $: 2. Money policy 3. Civil Service Reform 4. The Tariff & the Surplus 5. The Populist Movement: 4. Complaints and Demands 5. The Populist Party and the election of 1892 6. The Free Silver Election of 1896: 6. The Demo-Pops and the Cross of Gold 7. The repudiation of “inflation” and the agrarian influence Part One The Two Political Parties and the Political “Atmosphere” of the Gilded Age The Political Makeup of the Gilded Age o “The political seesaw was delicately balanced throughout most of the Gilded Age.” (Bailey) o Evidence of this delicate balance:  Close presidential elections  1

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 House of Reps. Majority party switched 6x from 1869-1891  The same party had control of both Congress and the White House only 3x o As a result, politicians were fearful to take bold & clear stands on any issue o As a consequence, elections consisted of personal snipes, dirt-digging & bloody shirt waving (sort of like today… sorry!  ) o Remember – the predominant focus during this time is MORE on the huge changes occurring in the social and economic areas of the U.S. – less on politics: o Huge industrial expansion o Huge shift in population from rural to urban o Huge influx of “new” immigrants o Era of the business tycoon v. poor laborer o Government (both parties) tended to support business expansion: o Little if any regulation (ICC & Sherman Anti-Trust come in the latter o Rail road subsidies o High tariffs o Injunctions and troops against labor strikes; anti-trust suits against unions The Two Parties o Few economic issues separated both parties o For the most part, both in agreement over:  Tariff  Currency  Civil Service reform o The Republicans 2

o Roots in Puritanism o Personal morality o Government to play a role in economy & moral affairs of community The Democrats o Immigrants o o More forgiving towards human weaknesses o Toleration of differences in an imperfect world Geographic Distribution of the Two Parties (pictures of a bunch of election maps from 1868-1896) Part Two: The Forgettable Presidents A Timeline of Elections, Issues, & Controversies From 1868-1896 Election of 1868 Grant R v. Seymour D o “Let there be peace” o Should Reconstruction continue? o

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